There’s a small grocery store and a general merchandise store, along with a couple of fast food chains. I walk past them and finally find what I’m looking for: a little run-down building with the word MOTEL flashing in front.
I approach the building warily and push open the door. A little bell jingles and the scent of must and mold wafts to my nose. It’s an older building, but it’s just for one night.
Hopefully.
Oh, I really, really hope it’s only for one night.
“Hello,” the clerk says when I walk in. She looks me up and down and then, if I’m not mistaken, she sniffs the air. Oh damn, do I smell bad? I walked for a long time. I’m probably sweaty and gross by now. “Can I help you?” She cocks her head to the side, waiting for me to say something.
“Um, yes, do you have any rooms available?”
“You want a room?” She looks surprised, as if that was the last thing she was expecting me to say.
“Yeah, I mean, yeah. Isn’t this a motel? I mean, um,” I stumble over the words, completely flustered, until she smiles and laughs and waves her hand.
“Calm down, honey. It’s just that we don’t get too many out-of-towners here. I figured you were looking for directions. Of course we’ve got a room. Just one night?”
“Yeah,” I say, breathing a sigh of relief.
“I’ll need to see your ID, and it’ll be $42.50 for the evening. Cash or credit is fine.”
I fish my driver’s license out of my pocket and hand it over, along with my credit card. I do have a little cash, but I want to save it for emergencies. Then again, I think this technically qualifies as an emergency.
The woman starts whistling as she bustles around, copying my ID and filling out something on her computer.
“So what brings you to Wolfe City?” She asks.
“Oh, I’m actually on my way to Honeypot,” I tell her. Maybe I shouldn’t admit my final destination. Maybe I shouldn’t be telling a stranger where I’m going, but something about this woman seems calming, trustworthy. She’s older than me, probably around forty or so, and she has a gentle smile.
“Honeypot?” She looks up at me in surprise. “Why?”
“I’m going to go stay with my friend for a little while.”
“Oh,” she nods. “Boy trouble?”
“Something like that. My car broke down, though, so I’m here.” I motion to the room. “You don’t happen to know a good mechanic, do you?”
A grin spreads across her face.
“My husband is the town mechanic,” she says. “And he’s the very best. Don’t worry,” she glances at my ID. “Amy. We’ll get you taken care of in no time.”
Chapter 2
Adam
As I lurk around the Wolfe City Motel, I can’t quite believe what’s happening. The women Heather called Amy is my mate. She’s definitely, absolutely, totally my mate.
And she’s totally human.
How could this happen? How could this be the way I found out? I’ve been searching my whole life for the one woman I’m destined to be with. I never expected it to be a human. I never expected to find a mate who wasn’t a shifter.
A shifter knows, though. There’s no mistaking it when you find your one true mate. There’s no denying the way you can scent them, the way you instantly know there’s a connection. There’s no way this could be a mistake.
She’s the one I’ve been waiting for all this time.
And she’s only passing through town, so I don’t have much time.
I was able to catch her scent more quickly than I should have. Usually a person’s distinct scent is fairly faint. Usually, you have to get pretty close to be able to smell them. This is why wolves are so seductive and suave. This is why we use all of our sexual prowess to get close to each other. We need to be physically close, and sometimes physically touching, in order to tell if someone is our mate.